State officials have a once-in-a-generation chance to save California salmon—and they're failing.
As our lead scientist @jarosenfield stresses in this article, the state's plan would drive native fishes to extinction:
#sfbay #baydelta #fish #salmon #chinooksalmon #cawater #californiawater #water #extinctionisforever
"The voluntary agreements are an extinction plan," as our lead scientist
@jarosenfield describes the state's new Bay Delta Plan.
Endangered species will continue to plummet, more fisheries will shutter, and Tribes & Delta communities will continue to suffer with worse water quality.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/bay-delta-water-21325171.php
#cawater #californiawater #baydelta #baydeltaplan #endangeredSpecies #endangeredspeciesact #cadelta #californiadelta #fish #extinction
via @indybay
Tribes, enviros speak out against trailer bills to fast-track #DeltaTunnel project
“Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our ancestral homelands and waterways, or desecrating sacred sites and ancestral remains,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the #ShingleSpringsBand of #MiwokIndians.
by Dan Bacher
Mon, Aug 11, 2025 4:19PM
Sacramento, CA – "On an unusually mild summer day, Tribal leaders and environmental justice advocates met with legislators at the State Capitol on July 16 for the 2025 Day of Action for #WaterJustice.
"They urged the legislators to reject Governor Newsom’s proposed trailer bills that they say would fast-track the Delta Conveyance Project (#DCP) and bypass critical #EnvironmentalProtections at a time when the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is in unprecedented ecological crisis — and a number of fish species are on the edge of #extinction.
"The day-long event started with meetings between Tribal members, environmental advocates and legislators to urge support for 'equitable, science-based water solutions' that protect the #BayDelta and to reject the financially reckless Delta Conveyance Project that threatens ecosystems, Tribal sovereignty, and public health, according to a statement from #RestoreTheDelta.
[...]
"At the press conference on the Capitol steps, advocates called on lawmakers to reject trailer bills that would provide CEQA exemptions for the #DeltaConveyanceProject, circumventing existing law, court rulings and public opinion.
"Specifically, the coalition called on lawmakers to:
- Vote NO on SB 72 that undermines the #DeltaReformAct and sets arbitrary water supply targets;
- Vote YES on AB 362 that protects tribal beneficial uses of water and to;
- Vote YES on AB 263, extending emergency protections currently in place for the #ScottRiver and #ShastaRiver, a high priority for the recovery of #CohoSalmon.
"Speakers at the press conference included representatives from the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the #WinnememWintu Tribe, as well as elected leaders and representatives from Restore the Delta, #SierraClub California, #FriendsOfTheRiver, #DefendersOfWildlife, #SanFranciscoBaykeeper and the #DeltaCountiesCoalition.
"Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, began the press conference emphasizing the harm that the Delta Tunnel would cause to Tribes and #disadvantaged communities.
" 'Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our #AncestralHomelands and waterways, or desecrating #SacredSites and ancestral remains,' said Tayaba. 'Our culture and identities are intrinsically tied to the Delta. There is no price tag worth paying that would ever justify the harm done to us or the unquantifiable costs that Tribes and disadvantaged communities would ultimately bear.'
"Gary Mulcahy, Government Liaison with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, followed Tayaba by stating, “There is nothing about the Delta Tunnel Project that significantly benefits anyone except #BigAg and south of the Delta water agencies, while putting #EndangeredSpecies, tribal cultural resources, and disadvantaged communities and the viability of the S.F Bay-Delta itself at risk. #CEQA exemptions continue to attempt to erase Tribes from #WaterGovernance.”
[...]
" 'Instead of wasting ratepayer money to keep pushing this expensive environmental justice debacle, we need to sees investments in local water supply like #RecycledWater, and the Freshwater Pathways program that would improve Delta levees to keep communities safe and improve State Water Project reliability in an emergency. We urge a commitment to vote NO on the return the Delta Conveyance Project and Bay Delta Water Quality Control Plan bills,' Wagner said."
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2025/08/11/18878845.php
#WaterIsLife #TribalGovernance #CulturalPreservation #CulturalErasure #BigAgriculture #BigWater #GavinNewsome #CaliforniaPol #Graywater
“Delta tribes deserve a responsible and equitable approach to water management in the state that does not require jamming a tunnel through the Delta, destroying our ancestral homelands and waterways, or desecrating sacred sites and ancestral remains,” said Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair with the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians.
"This latest plan is a shocking display of cowardice," as our science director
@jarosenfield told @rachbecknews
Newsom's plan would be devastating for already hard-hit fisheries, Chinook #salmon & other native fish & wildlife, Tribes, and Bay-Delta communities.
Also concerning: the Newsom Admin's move to limit disclosures about how the plan would affect the Bay-Delta through a bill waiving #CEQA requirements. Ashley Overhouse of Defenders of Wildlife said the exemption is "bordering on undemocratic because you are cutting out the public in an important process."
https://calmatters.org/environment/2025/07/sacramento-river-delta-report/ #sfbay #delta #cadelta #californiawater #cawater #baydelta
The Water Board will be meeting on Monday on Zoom for input on whether to move forward with the disastrous #DeltaTunnel plan—and we need as many people as possible to show up to oppose it.
Help us get the word out about why this destructive, wasteful project must be stopped!
Instructions for participating in the meeting are here:
https://baykeeper.org/update/help-us-stop-the-delta-tunnel-on-march-24/
The State Water Board will be meeting on Zoom on March 24 starting at 9am for input on whether to move forward with the disastrous Delta Tunnel plan—and we need as many people as possible to show up to oppose it. See the agenda below for information about joining the hearing on Zoom. If you
"All these species that we think of as being endangered and on the precipice of disappearing, we've forgotten that they used to be abundant,” as our science director @jarosenfield said.
The slow change in what society--& regulators--expect of the natural world is a silent killer of the Bay-Delta ecosystem 😔
@RestoreTheDelta #KlamathRiver #baydelta #sanfranciscobay #californiadelta #cawater #fish #wildlife #endangeredspecies
The decline of multiple fish species across the Bay-Delta estuary suggest a common threat: "White sturgeon are the largest North American freshwater fish, Delta smelt are among the smallest North American freshwater fish," as our science director @jarosenfield said to Maven's Notebook.
"One lives one year, the other lives 100 years. They don’t have much in common, but the fact that they're both in decline tells us we're damaging the entire ecosystem. … They need high river flows."
https://mavensnotebook.com/2024/07/11/feature-a-bigger-older-fish-gasping-for-more-water-white-sturgeon-slipping-away/
#fish #fishing #whitesturgeon #deltasmelt #baydelta @RestoreTheDelta
“We're supposed to be operating dual goals in a deathmatch tension. One is to increase the supply or increase the reliability of the supply of water, and the other goal is to protect the ecosystem,” as Baykeeper science director @jarosenfield told the Sacramento Bee: “No one talks about the third goal, which is to reduce reliance on the Delta.”
Conservation and reducing our reliance on water from the estuary is key! https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article288498329.html #baydelta #cawater #californiawater #fish #sfbay #sanfranciscobay
A reminder of the MASSIVE amount of California's fresh water that's wasted to maximize profits for wealthy corporations—at the expense of rivers, the Bay, the Delta, and native fish:
"California farms could use 93% less water but less-thirsty crops, such as grains and hay, are much less lucrative than nuts and fruits. Fallowing a small fraction of the thirstiest crops would save 9%."
https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/03/california-farms-water-conservation/ #californiawater #cawater #water #drought #fish #fishing #sanfranciscobay #sfbay #baydelta
San Francisco Baykeeper
DoomsdaysCW
